My pineapple sage plant bloomed around the end of August, just in time to welcome the hummingbirds and butterflies as they stopped to refuel on their migration for the fall. It was also a late season treat for my honey bees.
Pineapple sage is generally a perennial in my area, tolerating temperatures to 20 degrees. But we reached single digit numbers last March and had a record snow fall. It survived and came back strong this year. I had mulched it heavily, so that may have been the reason for it’s survival. Plant pineapple sage in a place with at least 6 hours of sunshine and in well drained soil.
I saw a recipe for pineapple sage pound cake that I have been meaning to try out. The weather has been getting cooler, so I knew I had better gather the leaves and flowers before our first frost. Everyone likes a good pound cake, and I read the pineapple scented leaves and foliage add a little twist to this one.
I’ve seen this recipe on a number of sites, so I’m not sure who is the source.
Ingredients.
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 5 eggs
- 3 tbsp. fresh pineapple sage, chopped
- 4 tbsp. pineapple chopped and drained
- 1 tsp. lemon peel
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 cups flour
Using an electric beater combine 1 cup butter with 1 cup sugar until the consistency is light and fluffy. Beat in ¼ cup of honey.
Next add the eggs one at a time, beating one minute per egg to thoroughly incorporate.
Add 3 tablespoons chopped pineapple sage leaves, 4 tablespoons chopped pineapple and 1 teaspoon lemon peel. Make sure all the juice is drained out of the pineapple to keep from adding additional moisture to the batter.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 2 cups of flour.
Spoon the batter into 4 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
I didn’t have the mini loaf pans, so I was able to make two larger ones.
When the cake was sliced you can see the pieces of leaves and flowers. This pound cake was delicious, but to be honest, I could not taste a lot of the pineapple. It did have a great buttery taste and was very moist.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 5 eggs
- 3 tbsp. fresh pineapple sage, chopped
- 4 tbsp. pineapple, chopped, drained
- 1 tsp. lemon peel
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 cups flour
Instructions
Using an electric beater combine 1 cup butter with 1 cup sugar until the consistency is light and fluffy. Beat in ¼ cup of honey.
Next add the eggs one at a time, beating one minute per egg to thoroughly incorporate.
Add 3 tablespoons chopped pineapple sage leaves, 4 tablespoons chopped pineapple and 1 teaspoon lemon peel. Make sure all the juice is drained out of the pineapple to keep from adding additional moisture to the batter.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 2 cups of flour.
Spoon the batter into 4 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.